Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Sold by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lowered its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 87.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,135 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,155 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 185 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:DGX opened at $211.75 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $157.20 and a 12-month high of $213.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $188.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.85. The firm has a market cap of $23.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.20, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.66.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.57%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.23 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.57%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 1,433 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total transaction of $293,521.39. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 68,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,010,781.66. This represents a 2.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 1,111 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total value of $227,566.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 38,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,859,531.93. The trade was a 2.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 9,164 shares of company stock worth $1,872,363 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Evercore set a $220.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.29.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.